It’s also important that you continue to make payments as regularly as you can, even if you cannot provide the full amount. This will help to avoid a large outstanding balance.

Protecting your credit rating

You’re legally obliged to pay for the energy you use. If you don’t make regular payments, this could result in further action being taken against you which could lead to a negative impact on your credit rating.

If we're unable to talk to you

If payments are outstanding on your account and we’ve not been able to speak to you despite several attempts, we’ll ask one of our debt collection agencies, OPOS and CRS, to contact you to organise payment.

OPOS and CRS are accredited companies who specialise in collections for energy suppliers and will contact you on our behalf in a variety of ways (email, telephone call, text as well as letter).

If OPOS or CRS have contacted you, please get back to them using the details they’ve provided. They’ll work with you to explore the best route to clear any balance outstanding on your account.

Installing a pre-payment meter

We'll offer to install a prepayment meter in your home if you have declined our proposals for payment.

If we have been unable to make contact with you, we may arrange for a Debt Counselling Agent (DCA) from Grosvenor Services to visit your property to discuss the options available.

If you decline our offer of a prepayment meter, or if we continue to be unable to make contact with you, we may need to apply to a magistrate for a warrant to access the property and install a prepayment meter without your consent.

If we install a prepayment meter to help you repay your debt to Bristol Energy, we will advise you of:

How much money you owe and why

The amount of debt that we’ll recover through the prepayment meter each week

Details of any standing charges that you’ll have to pay

How long it will take to clear the debt at the agreed repayment rate

How to operate your prepayment meter

The amount of emergency credit available on your prepayment meter and how this works

A telephone number for advice and emergencies; and details of any charges for replacing lost or damaged prepayment devices.

If it’s unsafe or impractical to install a prepayment meter, we’ll make a further attempt to agree a repayment plan, taking into account all information that we have about your individual circumstances and ability to pay.

We may also prevent you from switching away from Bristol Energy to another supplier until the debt is repaid. However, if you have a prepayment meter and your debt is £500 or less, you may switch to another supplier provided they agree that you can repay the debt to them, rather than to us.

Further action

We’d always prefer to avoid further action, but we may be required to take steps if you:

Fail to keep to an agreed repayment plan

Interfere or tamper with a prepayment meter

Refuse to enter into a repayment plan when we’ve been unable to install a prepayment meter

Are eligible for the Fuel Direct Scheme but refuse to make use of this.

Before we make any decision we’ll always consider your individual circumstances.

Useful Contacts

If you’re struggling to make payments, you may like some independent advice. The following organisations will be able to help you to manage your finances and offer you advice on the benefits you could be entitled to.

Wales

About Grosvenor Services

Grosvenor Services is a subsidiary of Bristol-based customer service specialist, Echo Managed Services. Grosvenor is vastly experienced in this area and the team focuses on engaging sensitively with customers whilst fully understanding their circumstances and any vulnerabilities. Grosvenor is passionate about great customer service, even in more sensitive and difficult situations.

With one of the largest field teams operating throughout the UK, Grosvenor provides customer-centric solutions to major blue-chip organisations, working predominantly in the UK utilities industry. FCA and ISO 9001 accredited, Grosvenor is also a member of the Institute of Customer Service and was named the UK’s best outsourced collections provider at the 2017 Credit Awards, the largest and most prestigious awards programme in the credit and collections industry.

About Fuel Direct

If you receive Pension Credit, Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, you may be able to take advantage of the Fuel Direct Scheme. On this scheme the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes money each week to the value of the current Fuel Direct rate from your benefits. They then pay us the money you owe for any electricity and/or gas debt you have with us as well as for your current usage. It will usually take two weeks for us to set this up with the DWP.